----- Original Message -----
From: "Randy Grant" <dendarin@hotmail.com>
To: <ffml@anifics.com>
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2002 8:54 PM
Subject: [FFML] [fic][Ranma] Coping
This has actually been on FFNet for a while, but I figured I'd get more
detailed C&C here. Please, I need help! Also, can someone please
clarify if the Amazon tribe is "Niechiezu" or "Joketsuzoku?" (or some
spelling variation thereof)
>From what I've been able to gather, Joketsuzoku is the name of the
village (it more or less translates as "Village of Heroic Women").
Niechiezu refers to the Amazons themselves, of which there may be
more villages than Joketsuzoku (which would then be either a capitol
or head village of sorts).
PG-13 for violence early on and limish scenes; don't read if you don't
want to see Soun dead.
You don't have to say this (spoils the suprize somewhat). A DARK tag
is sufficient.
Setting: A while after the manga ends. For the purposes of this story,
the aborted wedding happened, but everything between then and Akane's
kidnapping by Kima did not. Nabiki is a freshman in college, Kasumi
still takes care of the home, Genma moved back with Nodoka, but Ranma
still has the Tendo guest room.
Er... The aborted wedding was the last event in the Manga and
never showed up in the Anime. Are you saying that the whole
sequence with Saffron and his people did not happen?
Actually, I think it's horribly written (the style somehow
reminds me of _The Great Gatsby_), but I liked the concept when I
planned it out, so I stuck it out to the end. Then again, maybe the
depressing writing reflects the story. After all, it _does_ get more
lively at the end.
Ooh... Go ahead, drive me off to read something else why don't you?
^_^
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"I'm home!" Akane called cheerfully as she left her shoes in the
genkan. "Hey, Kasumi," she called as she rounded the corner to the
kitchen. "Guess what ha-" She stopped short and stared at the scene
before her. The first thing she noticed was that there was blood all
over. Next she noticed the two bodies on the floor - her father and
Kasumi, her eldest sister. Her father's eyes were open in a lifeless
stare, and she could well imagine that Kasumi's were as well, though her
face was pointing towards the wall. She took all this in as Ranma
called out his greeting to the household and jogged into the kitchen to
ask Kasumi what would be for dinner.
"Hey, Kasumi, what's f-... Oh my god." He swallowed noisily.
"Akane, are you okay?" She nodded dumbly. Ranma turned and ran into
the living room and returned holding the cordless phone. "Hello,
emergency services? I'd like to report a break-in and robbery with two
assaults- hold on." He quickly examined the victims and resumed his
commentary. "One murder and one assault. Looks like a bullet to the
chest... Also tell the rescue people that there'll be two teens in
shock to deal with. The address is..." Akane started to fade out at
that point.
Only two teens? Where's Nabiki? Shouldn't she be ariving home
from school too?
When she came to she noticed that she had somehow been moved to
the couch and that the kitchen and living room were filled with
emergency personnel. She looked around to find Ranma giving a statement
to the police and EMTs wheeling out two gurneys, one with Kasumi on it
and the other holding a long, black bag. A police woman noticed that
she had come around at about the same time Ranma finished and came over
to sit by her. "Excuse me, Tendo-san, Saotome-san. I understand that
this has been a very traumatic event for you. Would you like me to set
up an appointment for you with a psychiatrist to help you deal with -
what happened here?"
Ranma shook his head. "I think I'd rather not. Besides, I'm
just a family friend; I think it sucks, but life goes on. You oughta
get help whether you think you need it or not, though," he added to
Akane. "It was your father and sister, after all."
"A psychologist," she heard herself say, "not a psychiatrist. I
don't want to spend the rest of my life on drugs because someone else
doesn't think I'm dealing with this right."
"A psychologist, then. I'll call one for you and be right back,
okay? And take tomorrow off; work, school, whatever can wait. For both
of you." The officer returned in a few minutes with a slip of paper
which she handed to Akane. "There, you have an appointment in two days
at three in the afternoon." She automatically. "Now, I understand that
the victims were the only adults in the household?"
"Yeah, while Nabiki's at college, anyways."
Ah! So this is set *that* far ahead, is it?
"I understand that you may resent being forced to live elsewhere
when you're going to be adults in under a year anyway, so is there
someone who can take responsibility for you while you're living here?
Other than your sister, if her college is far enough away that she
cannot live here."
Well, Nabiki could have been forced to quit collage and get a
job of some sort, but it would not be an ideal solution. For
one thing, it ruins Nabiki's prospects and the likelyhood of
her getting a viable job with which to support Akane and herself
on such short notice is highly unlikey. Ranma would simply go
back to living with his parents as their house has probably
been rebuilt by now.
I take it that Kasumi is not being considered as an option
due to her injuries and possible trauma?
"My po- ah, my mom can be our official guardian till then. I'll
call her." The policewoman accompanied Ranma to the phone, then
wherever else the business that needed to be settled took place. Akane
blanked out again.
Yes, best to try to cut Genma out of the loop now, if possible...
When she became aware of her surroundings again, the police and
EMTs were gone and the house was dark. The door opened just as her eyes
did and Ranma came in holding a paper bag from which he proceeded to
extract several takeout boxes. He shrugged at Akane's unspoken
question. "I don't think either of us wants ta use the kitchen for a
while, but we _need_ to eat. We're both in shock, though I'm not
anywhere near as bad as you. Come on, you might not feel hungry, but
you need this." Akane reluctantly joined him at the table where Ranma
was nearly forced to force-feed her to get anything in her stomach. He
hardly ate anything himself and about half of what he had bought
remained uneaten. He dumped it in the garbage rather than have to put
it in the refrigerator in the kitchen.
Akane ran through the first stages of grief quickly - the denial
stage mostly overlapped with a state of shock. Her anger could not
stand for long in the face of the supportiveness that her favorite
target, Ranma, was showing. Her dealing did not last longer than a
prayer or two. However, she seemed to get stalled in depression. She
was still there when she arrived at her first meeting with her
psychologist that Thursday.
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"Hello, Tendo Akane. My name is Okui Sayuri."
"Hi."
"I understand that you recently witnessed a very traumatic
event. Would you care to talk about it?" Dr. Okui's office had a very
homelike atmosphere, with paintings on the walls and a few pictures of
children - presumably the doctor's - as well. The desk sat in the
corner and the couch Akane had expected was absent. Instead they both
sat in comfortable, though ugly, armchairs.
"Not really. I don't like to think about it."
"It's not going to do you any good to let it fester, either. I
understand your sister survived. Is she returning home any time soon?"
"She's in a coma. They're not completely sure that she'll ever
wake up, but we're all ever hopeful." The doctor seemed concerned at
the lack of emotion in Akane's voice, but did not mention it. Instead
she pulled a package of cigarettes out of her pocket.
"Do you smoke?" Akane shook her head. "Well, do you mind if I
do? I've really got to kick the habit, but I just can't seem to do it."
"Maybe you should see a psychologist."
"Maybe. Is there anyone else at home to help you get through
this?"
"Yeah, Ranma. Ranma Saotome. He's supposed to be my fianc�,
but we never do anything but fight."
"Arranged marriage?"
"Yeah, it's supposed to unite our two families. I don't see
why, though; our fathers were already practically joined at the hip. I
guess now there's a reason, though."
"What kind of things do you fight about?"
"Mostly just nit-picking at each other and his other fianc�es."
"Other fianc�es?"
"Well, fianc�e, anyway. Saotome-san is a real jerk. He got
Ranma engaged to a whole bunch of people in his life, even though he was
already supposed to be engaged to me. The only one who still wants him,
though, is Ukyou. Shampoo thinks she's engaged to him because of some
dumb law of her village that he didn't know about at the time and
Kodachi just wants him, but I don't think they count as real
engagements."
"And Ukyo?"
"Well, she's also his best friend. She'll fight for him - has,
in fact; she ruined a wedding already - but if he really wants someone
else I think she'll let him go."
"Are you attracted to Ranma yourself?"
Akane snorted. "I don't think I know a girl who isn't. He's
very handsome and a great fighter. Even if he is a jerk sometimes..."
"How do you actually feel about him?"
"Isn't this supposed to be about what happened the other day?"
"It's about making you feel better about yourself. There are
small problems, medium ones and big ones. The small ones you can
probably handle by yourself. The medium ones, like Ranma, have to be
taken care of before we can get to the hard ones, like how to deal with
the other day. Or we can do it in the opposite order, but since you
seem much more willing to talk about Ranma than the incident..."
"..."
"Tell you what, why don't you tell me what law makes Shampoo
think she's engaged to Ranma. Is it one of those things where if you
take the girl for a walk in a certain field at a certain time they must
marry you? I've heard of things like that in rural parts of the world."
"No, it was if an outsider male beat a Joketsuzoku woman they
have to marry. Shampoo was annoyed at Ranma and his father for eating
the feast that was supposed to be the prize for her winning the village
combat competition, so she challenged him to get a chance to hurt him
for it. Thing is, Ranma's nearly the best fighter in the world. Even
when he loses, he doesn't stay defeated - he comes back and always wins
eventually. It's gotten him in trouble a few times, but he's still got
a nearly perfect record."
"So Shampoo beat him and he trained then came back and beat her?
I can see why they might enforce that law, then, since he seemed so
determined."
"No, he beat her right off. Like I said, he doesn't lose in the
first place very often." Just then a timer buzzed. "That's it?"
"For today. Would you like to come again next week? Or better
yet, on Monday? Twice a week is often better for the first little
while." Akane thought for a moment, then shrugged. She really felt no
better, but she did not feel worse either - it was something to do.
Something _away_ from the house. Spring vacation started the next day
Just an aside - The Japanese school year is eleven months long, with
a single month long break in the summer (well, I think it's in the summer).
Various shorter breaks may occur during the school year, depending
on the school in question, with time set aside for special school trips
and such.
and she knew that she would be spending more time at home than was
comfortable. Dr. Okui handed her a pair of cards. One was a business
card with her next appointment time on the back and the other had the
doctor's name and a phone number on it. "That's my emergency line. You
can reach me with it any time, day or night, if you feel yourself in
need of someone to talk to. For whatever reason - if you just can't
stand it, if you think you'll do something stupid, whatever."
The phrazing could definitely be better here...
"Thanks."
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Akane stared at the bottle on the table. This was the second
day in a row that she had taken it out, but she had not actually opened
it yet. She thought she might welcome the oblivion that alcohol would
bring, especially after the funeral that afternoon, but... it was her
father's. She glanced out the back door to where Ranma had been
practicing when she got home, but he was not there. Either in the dojo
or taking a bath, then. "Well," she whispered, "Daddy wouldn't have
wanted it to go to waste."
The bottle was half-empty by the time Ranma came downstairs.
"Hey, Ranma. This stuff don' work right. It still hurts." He blinked
in confusion for a moment, then sighed and sat down next to her.
"_That_," he said, pointing at the bottle in her hand, "will
never make it stop hurting. The only thing it'll do is make you forget
tomorrow that it hurts now. You may as well go to sleep; it'll do the
same thing."
"You jus' wan' me ta shtop. I'll bet you wan' my sake! Well,
you can' have it! It was Daddy's an' now 'smine."
"No, you can drink as much as you want tonight," Ranma sighed.
"I'll stay here to make sure you don't hurt yourself, though."
"Thanks." She leaned her head on Ranma's shoulder. "Yer a pal,
y'know that?" She took another swig from the bottle, then just sat
there for a few minutes before tears started to fall. "This sucks," she
sobbed. "I need Daddy t'hol' me, but he can't 'cause he's dead! Will
you hol' me, Ra'ma?"
"Uhh, y-yeah, if you need me to." Ranma put his arms around
Akane's shoulders loosely and she pressed her face into his chest. She
finally stopped crying just before they hit his critical change point.
He just sat there, impotently patting her on the shoulders. After a
while she sat up, wiping her eyes. "Feel better?"
"A little. Not much, but it's a start. Thanks." She gave him
a quick peck on the cheek. Then, deciding that that also made her feel
better, she pressed her lips against his. He resisted for a moment,
then apparently decided to participate in the kiss, which made it much
more enjoyable. This continued for a few more minutes, at which time
Akane made her decision. "Stay wi' me tonigh', Ra'ma."
"Wha-" Ranma looked at her as if she had grown an extra head.
"I said-"
"I heard what you said." He looked at her carefully for a
moment, then sighed and gently shoved her off his lap, where she had
ended up during their brief tongue battle. "Not tonight, Akane. You're
drunk."
"What, you'll kiss me, but you won' sleep wi' me?"
"I wasn't thinking when you kissed me, but I'm thinking now. I
don't want you to do something now that you'll regret later."
"Haven' ya ever heard there's truth in wine?"
Has he heard? I'd like to know where she heard it, myself....
"Maybe, but it'll also make you willing to sleep with anything
short of Happosai. Now, come on and go to bed. _Your_ bed. I don't
think I'll have any problem if you still want to do this in the morning,
but I doubt you will."
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"So, how was your weekend?"
"The first half sucked. My fat-... The funeral was Friday.
Ranma went out in the back yard to work his grief off, but I decided to
be a moron and got drunk. I'm not really clear, but I think I came on
to Ranma while I was drunk."
"What happened?"
Akane shrugged. "Nothing. He let me keep drinking, but told me
not to do it again. I think he kissed me back, but when I asked him to
sleep with me he sent me to bed. I think he was nice, though. I really
don't remember much, but he was definitely nice."
"Is that odd?"
"I guess not. We fight a lot, but we're really good friends
when it counts."
"Well, what about the rest of the weekend?"
"Saturday morning was horrible. Hangover. Ranma gave me a shot
of sake - said it was enough to get rid of the hangover, but not enough
to get me drunk."
"Where did he learn that?"
"His father gets drunk a lot. Speaking of which, Genma came by
that afternoon. Ranma made me stay upstairs, but I think he was right
this time, so I did. There was a big argument. I think Genma wants us
to get married right away so he can secure the dowry. With Daddy and
Kasumi... Well, Nabiki's in charge of everything and he wants to make
sure we get married before she thinks to nullify the arrangement. Ranma
told him - yelled, really, that's how I heard - that he wasn't going to
do it. Not just argued like he usually does, but flat-out refused. He
said, 'Her father just died and all you can think of is trying to stuff
us in the same bed? I've got my hands full making sure she doesn't
stuff her own head in a damn noose!'" She looked pensive for a moment.
"Do you think I might actually do that?"
"Perhaps not in that manner, but suicide is not unheard of in
cases like yours. What's worse is that I can't even tell you that it
would make their sacrifice be in vain, since your father obviously did
not die to protect you. I would rather you think of the people who
would miss you if you did, though."
"I'll try to avoid it. Nabiki would miss me, at least. She
came down for the funeral, but she's going to college in America, so the
vacation schedules are different. She's not going to be home again for
a while.
Some overlap in the summer, but depending on the collage, even
that can be a bit difficult to match up correctly. Also, international
travel is expensive and not to be taken lightly (Nabiki probably
qualified for some aid, since this was a family emergency).
"Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Well, then Ranma told his
father to get out and never come back. I'm sure he's heard that before,
but I think that Ranma is one of the few people who can enforce it on
him. He tried to sneak in a window to work from me, since his son
wasn't complying, and Ranma caught him and left him unconscious in a
garbage can! It was great! Now if only he could do that to
Happosai..."
Since his son *was* complaining...
One of my rare corrections...
"Who is Happosai?"
"You know that panty thief that randomly strikes the greater
Tokyo area? That's him. He trained Ranma's and my father in martial
arts, and he's a really great fighter, but he's a really bad person.
For instance, there was the time..."
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"I'm home."
"Hey, Akane," Ranma growled.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, at least not with you. Pop tried to get in again. I
left him with Mom this time; maybe he'll stay away this time." He
walked over and put a hand on Akane's shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"What kind of a question is that?"
"Okay, are you... no worse than usual? Did something happen
with the therapist that's got you upset?"
"No, she just got me thinking."
*****
"Have you tried to do anything with Ranma since Friday?"
"No, it didn't seem right with all that was going on on
Saturday and then Sunday didn't seem good for anything but
loafing around."
"Do you still want to?"
"I- I'm not sure. What does this have to do with
anything, anyway?"
"If the tension is there, it is an impediment to your
recovery. I am not a nun to tell you that to do anything before
marriage is morally wrong, nor am I going to tell you that you
absolutely should do something, but I think that if you really
want to take your relationship with your fianc� a step further,
and he feels the same way, it might be a good release for you."
Would a psychologist really present this advice? It's not like
Akane's there in order to salvage her relationship. She's there
to learn how to cope with her loss...
*****
"Akane?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry, did I space out again?"
"Yeah. Are you sure you're all right? You've been doing that a
lot lately."
"Just reflecting. Oh, Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for being there for me. In spite of everything." She
wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I know we usually
fight a lot, but I don't know what I would've done without you this past
week." She leaned forward and kissed Ranma lightly. When she pulled
her head back, he pressed his luck and gave her a kiss back. She moved
her arms up around his neck and held his head where it was so that they
could prolong the kiss. A few minutes later, their hair was in worse
shape than it usually was after a good fight, their clothes just as
rumpled and themselves just as out of breath. Akane pulled back just
long enough to smile and say, "I'm not drunk this time."
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Akane initiated the conversation on Thursday. "I'm sleeping
with Ranma," she said, almost accusingly.
"You don't sound all that happy about it."
"I'm not. I can't be sure if he's doing it because he wants to
or because he thinks I'll crack if he refuses me anything."
"Can't it be both? If he wants to, wouldn't he care enough to
feel the latter?"
"But how am I supposed to know? Actually, either way I _know_
he's afraid not to do it. Our first time-" she paused and blushed.
"Our first time, we started kissing and it just kept going. I- We were-
in the middle and... I noticed I wasn't enjoying it. He noticed, too.
He stopped us and... talked. He said he wanted to talk about what was
bothering me, but, well, you know I don't want to talk about- _that_."
Dr. Okui nodded. "So we just talked about nothing for a while. He was
so nice. He never insulted me once, just agreed with me or avoided the
subject... I didn't know he _could_ be that tactful. And he kissed me
a lot and... stroked me. I was drifting off to sleep after a while and
he stopped talking, but I said I wanted - that I _needed_ - to finish
what we started."
"And you did?"
"It was kind of slow. We both dozed off a couple of times, and
the whole thing felt like a dream. But yeah, we did. I know the first
time was just because he wanted to, but after that, I think that he's
just trying to keep me happy because of what I said that night."
"Has it occured to you that he _is_ trying to keep you happy and
has determined that sex is a good method because of that night, but that
his _reason_, if not his reasoning, is completely personal?"
"I suppose..."
"Why don't you ask him? I'm sure you'll get an honest answer if
you phrase it right. Even if it is as you suspect, isn't it better to
have him as a friend than an enemy? If you are not as close as you'd
like to be, that doesn't mean that you never will be if you put in a
little effort."
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"Akane, what's wrong with you?"
"Hmm?"
"Not awake yet, huh?"
"No, 'm'wake. Not completely, but 'm'wake. So, what's wrong
with me?" She sighed contentedly as Ranma pulled her in closer to him
and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled up against him for extra
warmth and comfort.
"That's what _I_ wanna know. It's not just your dad and Kasumi,
I know that. You're still depressed over that and I don't really blame
you. In case you hadn't noticed, I've been treading carefully around
you lately so you don't get even more depressed and do something stupid.
But, that's always on the back burner. Something else's on your mind
and it's driving you nuts and _that's_ driving _me_ nuts!"
"D'you love me, Ranma?" she asked plaintively.
"What?"
"D'you love me, or do you just not want me to kill myself?"
"What kind of a question is that? Of course I love you and of
_course_ I don't want you to kill yourself!"
"Tha's not what I meant, but that's okay. Thanks for loving me.
And for... _loving_ me."
"Which meaning got the emphasis?"
She kissed him. "Does it matter? Would you do one without the
other?"
"Sex without love? I don't think so. But I loved you long
before last week."
"Shoulda said so, jerk! Wait a minute... jerk - uncute..."
"What are you mumbling about?"
"Why do you call me 'uncute' all the time?"
"Because, ahh... I'm not sure I can say this without getting
hit." Akane just opened her eyes and stared into his. "Riiight...
Ahh, well, first off, it was an excuse not to get married. A lame one,
but... Second, while you can be cute, you usually aren't. You don't
really think you seem cute while you're trying to beat the crap out of
me, do you?"
"I don't know. Why don't we try an experiment right now and
I'll draw my conclusions?"
"You don't have to do that," Ranma put in hastily. "I can
already tell you that you're about as cute as you get right here in
bed."
"You're just trying to get into my panties again."
"You're not wearing any. Again." He grinned.
"On with the explanation! Why are Shampoo and Ukyo cute and I'm
not?"
"Who wants to be cute anyway? Cute is for puppies and kittens.
Cute- cute is for cuddling and taking for walks. _You_ are for my
life."
"But you cuddle with me," she pointed out. "And does that mean
you won't take me for walks?"
"I meant walks to go to the bathroom, not romantic walks.
Besides, it's too damned _dangerous_ to go for a walk with you around
here. And, honestly, I don't think it's worth going far enough away to
avoid interruptions. Besides," he said as he ran his finger up the
inside of Akane's thigh, "we can have just as much fun without ever
leaving the house."
"And here I thought I tired you out last night!" she laughed.
"You did, but it's not last night anymore."
"You're almost as insatiable as me. All right, the day can
wait. A bit of nighttime fun is in order!"
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Akane sighed and flopped down on her bed. �Our bed,� she
thought, �not just mine anymore.� She smiled at the thought, not in the
least because the very idea would have been unthinkable only a week and
a half ago. Ever since her father had died, though, Ranma had been so
incredibly supportive and caring, almost as though he thought she might
follow her father. Not that she hadn't considered it once or twice, but
it had never even gone into the planning stages. Even with the
depression of what had happened and seeing all that blood... still, life
was worth more than that. There were people who cared about her, and
that was doubly true now that she had Ranma. He was downstairs now,
singing off-key while he prepared dinner. She didn't resent her
inability to cook now - it was a good excuse to avoid what had until
recently been Kasumi's domain. She paused in her reflections as a chill
passed over her, almost as if...
Suddenly there was a spiked club embedded in the mattress where
Akane had been sitting. She had jumped up just in time to avoid it and
now stood face to snarling face with Kuno Kodachi, the most mentally
unstable of Ranma's fianc�es. "What-"
"I will never permit this! Milking the 'poor bereft daughter'
act just to get _my_ Ranma-sama into your bed! Now you die!" She flung
her ribbon at Akane.
"Hey, wait a second! I am _not_ trying to benefit from this!
How would you feel if someone shot your brother and fa- Never mind, I
almost forgot who your father and brother are." She dodged a razor-
hoop, only to be knocked head-over-heels by an unseen blow. She
realized that Shampoo had also joined the fray.
"You no have husband! He _mine_!"
"Well, while I cannot agree with that, I _can_ agree that he
shall not be _hers_. Would you like to join me?"
AKANE: "Ooh... I see dead people!"
SHAMPOO: "Where? Where see dead people?"
KODACHI: "Do not trifle with me, peasant!"
RANMA (cracking knuckles): "I see two dead people right now..."
"Happy to." Akane might have been proud, but she was not stupid
enough to think that she could take on both harpies at once, especially
since she had been too depressed to practice for two weeks and with them
as angry as they were. She managed to stay on her feet long enough to
dash downstairs. On the way, she passed Ranma who, though not the most
observant sort, had noticed a bit of a hubbub. Shampoo and Kodachi were
quickly laid out and left with the other trash - why not, since it was
garbage pickup day?
RANMA: "There, what'd I tell ya?"
SHAMPOO: "Not dead yet..."
RANMA: "You want I should fix this?"
KODACHI: "Shampoo, for both of our sakes, would you please shut up?"
^_^
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8
Dr. Okui Sayuri was going over some patient records during a
free hour when someone opened the door without knocking. She was about
to yell at whoever it was when she noticed that it was her newest
patient, Tendo Akane. She was covered with bruises including one black
eye swollen nearly shut and a split and bleeding lip, and she was
mumbling to herself while examining the corners and under and behind the
furniture. "No, not here... Not here either... Nope, maybe over
there?"
"Um, Tendo-san?"
"Just a second." She found the tape recorder Dr. Okui used to
review her sessions. She kept it in a cabinet because some patients
felt self-conscious and were afraid that she might let other people
listen to it. "This yours?"
"Yes."
"Okay." She continued her rounds for another minute, then
checked the desk the doctor was sitting at. "All clear. Can I use your
phone?"
"If you'll tell me what this is all about."
"In a minute." She picked up the phone and quickly dialed. "Hi
there. All clean here, the only mike is the doctor's; it must've been
our room. Oh, really? Both of them? Boy, I'm just glad Kodachi didn't
tell her brother! Think Mousse knows? Yeah, I guess that wouldn't
matter, would it? Well, I'll be home in a bit. Love you, too. Bye."
"So, what was that all about?"
"Oh, not much. Kuno Kodachi and Shampoo found out Ranma and I
were sleeping together and ambushed me this afternoon. We figured they
had to have been watching our room or yours, since those are the only
places we discussed that." She flopped down in her accustomed chair.
"Not that I'm accusing you of anything, you likely wouldn't have known.
But it's not beyond them to bug a private counseling session."
"Did they?" Okui asked, eyes wide.
"No, Kodachi bugged our room and Shampoo was watching from
outside. I thought one had found out and told the other, but it's
apparently a complete coincidence that they attacked me at the same
time. That's a relief because otherwise they might also have told Kuno
and Ukyo and we'd be fighting all four of them off constantly. I'm just
glad Shampoo's great-grandmother is off keeping Happosai busy in China
or we'd have to deal with both of them, as well."
"I... see." She didn't, not really, but it was enough to know
that her patient wasn't having a nervous breakdown. "You seem less
depressed today. Is there any reason?"
"Sort of. You see, I was going to talk to Ranma about- what you
talked to me about yesterday, but he got to it first. He was really
concerned that I was getting more depressed and not less and he
convinced me that he really does love me. And you'd be surprised how
much an attempt on your life makes you _want_ to live."
"Yes, I've heard of that. I'm not sure whether it's a natural
impulse to disobey those who want you dead or if it's the shock of the
adrenaline rush, but it definitely works. So, it's been a good day all
around?"
"Well, getting beat up wasn't too good for my ego, especially
not after two years of telling Ranma not to cosset me because I can take
care of myself, then watching him easily take out the two who were
beating me up, but other than that it was good. Thanks for being so
understanding about today. We're still on for Monday?"
"Until you decide to stop coming."
"Umm... Are you charging me for today?"
Okui chuckled. "I'll file it under 'emergency' and let it go.
But from now on I'd prefer to stick to our normal sessions unless you
actually _do_ have an emergency. Although, it seems to me that Ranma is
well-equipped to handle those."
"He's certainly trying, anyway. Well, good bye!" Dr. Okui
sighed and stared down at her paper for a moment, then looked up at her
recording machine. Akane had left the cabinet open, making it obvious
that it had not been on.
"I guess I'd better take this down before I forget it. Maybe I
should have asked her to turn it on while she was looking at it."
Seems interesting, at least. Is this a one shot, or do you plan to continue?
Tangent
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